Hurricane Ida - Pros and Cons

Hurricane Ida put a big damper on our trip to Florida. Small craft advisories and 45 mile per hour winds kept us off of the boat for days. Upon arrival back in Philly, Ida stalled off of the New Jersey coast for another 4 days. Total Ida days for me, Di and Babs: 7. Seven days of gray skies, off and on rain, and nasty wind. Ida eroded beaches all along the coast and kept us all miserable for a week. That's the con.

Now the pro. Ida's northeast winds pushed 100's of Common Eiders onto the Jersey coast. Over 100 have been reported off of Cape May at St. Mary's by the Sea vacation convent and another 80 have been seen at Barnaget Inlet. Today I took the chance and drove to Barnaget Inlet. The weather was still overcast but no wind. I walked out to the end of the jetty and PAY DIRT! A raft of 100 Common Eiders, plus a few Harlequin Ducks. See below for photos:

Herring Gulls on the beach, Eiders in the surf

Different plumages of Eiders: immature male, female, and 2 males

Herring Gulls, Eider, Harlequin Duck - all in the same frame

Here are some of the other birds seen at the inlet:

Oystercatcher

Herring Gull with a Starfish

Semi-palmated Plover